


Day Three Hundred Forty || Moving Away

by 365daysofsasuhina



Series: 365 Days of SasuHina 2019 [340]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Blood, Character Death, F/M, Gen, Mild Gore, Pregnancy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-24
Updated: 2019-12-24
Packaged: 2021-02-26 00:07:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,744
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21934198
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/365daysofsasuhina/pseuds/365daysofsasuhina
Summary: When tragedy strikes, they can't linger with the ghosts. It's time to move out, and move on...even if that means leaving friends behind.
Relationships: Hyuuga Hinata/Uchiha Sasuke
Series: 365 Days of SasuHina 2019 [340]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1235528
Comments: 2
Kudos: 16





	Day Three Hundred Forty || Moving Away

It all happens so suddenly.

Hanako’s second pregnancy hadn’t been without its share of worries. The Hyūga woman seemed to get a little weaker day by day, Hiashi hovering in worry despite her assurances she was fine, just...tired. Her morning sickness was powerful, her aches and pains keeping her in bed more often than not. But if Hanako was anything...it was set in bringing her second daughter into the world. So she endured, her patience never failing as she faced the dawn of every day determined to see its sunset...and do it all over again for as many months as it took.

And then, in late March...Hanabi was born.

Hanako survived, much to the nurses’ surprise. Weary and worn, she’d held the newborn with a sense of pride and relief. “You’ve given me quite a run of it,” she had murmured, Hiashi watching silently. “I’ll be glad to sleep without you kicking me from the inside...now to just handle all your fussing and crying for a while, hm?”

...but she would not get that chance.

Three days after returning home, after a particularly twisting roll over in bed...Hanako inadvertently caused her own demise. Tears from the strain of birth subtly reopened, blood loss unnoticed in her heavy sleep, exhausted from the past nine months. And the heavy drowsiness of an emptying circulatory system only ensured she wouldn’t wake.

Come morning...Hiashi work to a fussy Hanabi, and a dead wife.

Hemorrhage.

The shock and horror was almost too much. Calling emergency services in vain, he was told she had been gone for at least two hours by the time he noticed. There was nothing they could do. Nothing he could have done. Her body was simply too fragile, too weakened.

And now, it was lifeless...the only proof of it left in two little girls.

Hinata, only five at the time, barely understood. The ambulance and EMTs had frightened her, retreating to her room as a heavy, blanket-like atmosphere settled over the house.

Her questions about where her mother was were answered with an outburst of emotion from her father: something she could never recall seeing before.

...it scared her even further.

Hiashi slept in the guest bedroom as arrangements were made for his wife’s funeral, all while juggling a newborn and a preschooler. His brother’s widow offered her help, coming to stay for a few weeks with her son, Neji.

Hinata still didn’t fully comprehend. Everyone kept telling her her mother was gone, but...gone where? When was she coming back? Why had she gone, with the new baby only just arrived?

Didn’t she want them?

“But...what does it mean, she w-won’t come back? Why not?”

“It means she’s dead,” Neji replied quietly. Not cruelly, but simply as a matter of facts. He, after all, had been forced to come to terms with the idea even younger than Hinata had when his father died. “She’s asleep forever, Hinata. You won’t see her or talk to her anymore.”

Dark brows wilted, tears burning in her eyes. “But...w-why?”

“I don’t know...but when they were taking out the bed from your parents’ room, I saw a lot of blood.”

“B...blood…?”

“They said it was from the baby. Babies make you bleed when they come out. Your mama just...didn’t stop bleeding.”

...it hadn’t made any sense. Her mother had been fine! She’d come back from the hospital, and there wasn’t any blood...three days had gone by, and nothing!

Then why…?

People kept coming by their house. All of them were sad, with those eyes that said more than words ever could. Hanako had been beloved in their community: an active member of the garden club, among the other parents of the preschoolers, and just being friendly and welcoming to everyone she met. A bright light had been lost, people kept saying. Now things would be darker without her there.

Almost a month passed...and then Hiashi made a decision. He just couldn’t stand it anymore. Being in that house, seeing those people...all they were were constant reminders of her, of his loss, his broken heart.

...so, he found a house in another city two hours away. Not too far as to be cut off from his sister-in-law should they need one another, but enough for a new start. A blank slate. Something to let him begin to recover from the loss of his beloved Hanako.

...but not everyone is so ready to leave.

“Hinata...I must speak with you.”

Looking up from her small gathering of toys on her bedroom floor, the girl meets her father’s eyes. They’ve been dark and sunken as of late, and today is no different. And yet...there’s something different about his gaze...she just can’t quite put her finger on it. “...y-yes?”

He sits on her bed, patting the mattress beside her. “...how are you feeling?”

“...sad…”

“You miss Mama, don’t you?”

A small, somber nod is all she can manage.

“...me too. Every moment of every day. Which is why...I think we need a change.”

“C...change?”

“Yes, Hinata. I want to move to a new house.”

“...huh…?”

“This house, it’s…” He pauses with a sigh. “...it’s full of memories of your mother. And those memories - as much as I love them - are making me sad. It’s hard to move forward when we’re stuck here, in a place that’s tied to the past. Does that make sense?”

“I...don’t know…”

“...I think it would be good for us. We can meet new people, make new friends...and have a new house to make new memories in.”

“You want to forget Mama…?”

“Hinata, no...that’s not what I -”

“I don’t w-wanna forget Mama! We can’t leave...this is our home! This is where she was, where she was alive!”

“Hinata, listen to me!” Carefully, he takes her shoulders, trying to stop her temperamental flailing. “We won’t forget Mama. We can never forget. But if we stay here...then we can never heal. Our hearts will always be sad. Sometimes...you need to take time away from what makes you sad. Mama will always be with us, no matter where we go. That I can promise you.”

Looking to him teary-eyed, Hinata isn’t convinced. “W...what about my friends…?”

“...we’ll have a day where they can all come over and say goodbye before we leave. And maybe if their parents say it’s okay, you can call them on the phone sometimes, and come visit. Or they can come visit us. Will that be all right?”

She can’t find an answer.

“...I’ll talk to all the parents. I think most of them knew this would happen. So they’ll be ready. That way you can say goodbye, okay?”

...no reply.

Sighing, Hiashi goes quiet for a time. Without a word, he gets up and takes his leave.

Hinata just...sits before rolling over and staring at the wall.

With the money to spare and not wanting to wait, Hiashi hires a moving team to pack up the house. Hinata watches sadly as so many pieces of their lives - most untouched since she can remember - are wrapped in paper and put into boxes. Hiashi tells her that much of it will be donated, or put into storage. Where they’re going, the house will be a little smaller, but in a better neighborhood with a big yard and a smaller school.

By now, she doesn’t have the words to argue.

Two days before the final push, Hiashi arranges for her class to meet in the park just down the road. It’s well into Spring now, and the grass is green, even if the days are still rather cool. The other children all gather around as Hiashi explains.

“Hinata, Hanabi, and I are going to be moving to a new city, soon. We wanted a chance to say goodbye to you all...and thank you for all of your help.” Even now, his tone is a bit stiff - Hinata knows that means he feels awkward...and is trying to remain professional, even as the subject grows heavy.

“...I know that many of you treasured Hanako as we did. Her absence is felt by many...but so too is her presence. It lingers, and seems to drain us. We hope that a new start will let us adjust to life without her, without her memory hanging so heavily over our shoulders. You are all, of course, welcome to stay in touch. Especially the children - I know Hinata will miss many of you, and I thank you for being such good friends to her. Take today to have fun, and tell each other what you mean to one another. We’ll take those tidings with us when we go.”

Given how young they are all, many of the children seem a bit unsure what all the fuss is _really_ about - mortality isn’t yet a reality for some.

Were she a little older, Hinata might find herself a bit jealous of that.

“How come you gotta go away?” one boy, Kiba, asks in despair.

“Papa wants to go.”

“Can’t you stay?” Sakura asks, looking unsure.

“No...I w-wish I could. But Papa says we might come s-see you guys. But not for a while. I can call you on the p-phone.”

“I’ve never used the phone,” Chōji muses.

“M-me neither. But...m-maybe it will work.”

Everyone murmurs in discussion, but one boy seems to linger back from the group. Hinata knows him: Sasuke. He’s quite popular despite being so shy. They actually get along rather well, given their similarities.

“...I’ll miss you,” he offers quietly.

“Yeah…m-me too. I’ll call you on the phone, okay?”

“Okay...mister Roary will really miss Luna, too.”

Hinata jolts a bit at that. Luna is her little bunny plush, which she often brings to school with her. She’s good friends with Sasuke’s dinosaur plush, Roary. “M...maybe I’ll bring her to visit!”

“Yeah? Promise?”

“I promise.”

As the afternoon fades, Hiashi begins saying goodbyes to the adults, Hinata doing the same with her classmates. All of them give her hugs, wishing her well.

“Be careful, okay?”

Hinata nods as Sasuke takes his turn - the last of them - to embrace her. “I-I will…”

“I hope you like your new house, and your new school.”

“Yeah, me too. I’ll m-miss everyone.”

“We’ll miss you too. But we’ll see each other again! Okay?”

“...okay.”

**Author's Note:**

> I am...VERY tired, so this probably isn't my best work - I feel like the end is rushed cuz I was running out of steam @~@ And it doesn't help that angst tends to be very...slow work for me, aha~
> 
> Idk this is just...what my brain gave me. I've never gone into too much detail about Hanako's (Hinata's mother) death. But this is what I HC to have happened in pretty much every verse: her body is just too fragile and worn out, and a while after Hanabi is born, she has internal bleeding that kills her.
> 
> I didn't mean for this to be TOO graphic, and I hope it's not horrible. I often have trouble writing gore, so...I tried to tread a little lightly but also still make it impactful. Idk if I succeeded.
> 
> But for now I REALLY need to sleep, so...that's all for now. Thanks for reading~


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